Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 16/20

に代(か)わって

In place of, On behalf of, To succeed

Structure

Noun + に代(か)わって(1)

(1) に代(か)わり

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About に代わって

に代(か)わって is an expression that will only appear with nouns, conveying that (B) is doing something 'in place of (A)', or 'on behalf of (A)'. This is a combination of the case marking particle に, the う - Verb 代(か)わる 'to substitute', and the conjunction particle て.
  • 妹(いもうと)に代(か)わって、私(わたし)が買(か)い物(もの)に行(い)くことに決(き)まった。
    It has been decided that I am going to go shopping in place of my sister.
  • 私(わたし)が彼女(かのじょ)に代(か)わって会議(かいぎ)に出(で)ます。
    I will be attending the meeting in place of her.
に代わり may also be used, as this is the formal conjunctive. Also known as the conjunctive form.
  • タナカさんに代(か)わり、今日(きょう)は私(わたし)があなたたちの担当(たんとう)をします。
    In place of Tanaka-san, today, I am going to be in charge of you guys.
  • 世界中(せかいじゅう)ではファックスに代(か)わりメールが主流(しゅりゅう)になったが、日本(にほん)ではまだファックスしか使(つか)わないところが多(おお)い。
    All around the world, fax has been replaced by email as the main form of communication, but there still are places in Japan that only use fax.
Fun Fact
In this construction, に is acting as a location marker, rather than specifically meaning 'for (A)'. What this means is that に代(か)わる is the act of removing (A) from its place, and exchanging it for (B). This is why に代(か)わって may also be used in the meaning of 'to succeed', or 'to replace', as switching (A) to (B) may be permanent.
  • 今日(きょう)は社長(しゃちょう)に代(か)わって、私(わたし)が会議(かいぎ)を進(すす)めます。
    Today, I will take charge of the meeting in place of the CEO.
  • 父(ちち)に代(か)わって、皆(みんな)に挨拶(あいさつ)をした。
    In place of my father, I greeted everyone.

Examples

  • あなたが私(わたし)に代(か)わって説明(せつめい)をしてくれてありがとう。

    Thank you for explaining it on my behalf.

  • 社長(しゃちょう)に代(か)わって、山田(やまだ)さんが乾杯(かんぱい)の挨拶(あいさつ)をします。

    On behalf of the CEO, Mr. Yamada will do the toast.

  • 私(わたし)に代(か)わって、あなたが発表(はっぴょう)をすることになった。

    It has been decided that you will do the presentation instead of me.

  • 弁護士(べんごし)：「依頼人(いらいにん)に代(か)わって手続(てつづ)きを進(すす)めます。」

    Lawyer: 'I will proceed with the formalities on behalf of my client.'

  • 欠席(けっせき)の課長(かちょう)に代(か)わって私(わたし)が会議(かいぎ)に参加(さんか)しました。

    I attended on behalf of the absent section manager.

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に代わって – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • eefara

    eefara

    What is the difference between に代わって and かわりに? The former feels more formal, but that isn’t noted in the grammar explanation if so.

  • Johnathan-Weir

    Johnathan-Weir

    Based on this video and the other reading it’s like so,

    〜かわりに - casual/semi-formal
    〜にかわって - formal/business
    〜にかわり - formal writing

    Also, based on some other reading 〜にかわって is almost exclusively used with people.

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